Hunt: Showdown 1896’s Blood Testament Update Adds the Burgess Shotgun and a Blood Moon Event
Hunt: Showdown 1896's Blood Testament Update Adds the Burgess Shotgun and a Blood Moon Event
Crytek’s Update 2.9, Blood Testament, went live September 8, 2026 for Hunt: Showdown 1896, and it’s one of the extraction shooter’s meatier content drops of the year, mixing a community-wide event with a new weapon, two new traits, and a matchmaking overhaul.
Make Them Bleed: A Community Event in Three Stages
The update centers on Make Them Bleed, a community-wide event split into three progression stages that unlock rewards as the playerbase collectively works through them. Running alongside it is a Blood Moon time-of-day variant with two distinct phases that change monster behavior and visibility across the map, giving familiar compounds a noticeably different feel at night.
Blood Wells and the New Trait System
Blood Testament also adds Blood Wells at each compound, which offer hunters the new Siphon trait in exchange for health. Two burn traits round out the new toolkit: Siphon, which lets you loot scarce traits directly off defeated hunters, and Chupacabra, which restores health by interacting with animals. A new trait loadout saving system lets players bank 0 to 15 traits per build instead of re-picking them every match.
The Burgess Shotgun and Other Weapon Changes
On the weapons side, the headline addition is the Burgess, a foldable slide-action shotgun with a 6-round magazine, alongside Bayonet and reinforced-stock Trauma variants. The LeMat pistol also picked up a new High Velocity Ammo option. Crytek paired the new gear with balance changes elsewhere: Hunting Bow damage was reduced while the Terminus saw a damage increase.
Matchmaking, Hidden Extraction Points, and More
A handful of systemic changes round out Update 2.9. Extraction points, supply points, and scout towers are now hidden by default rather than shown automatically, pushing scouting back toward map knowledge. Matchmaking got an overhaul with MMR Decay and a New Player Modifier, Crytek added a cheater reimbursement system, and hunter roster slots were expanded from 75 to 100.
If Blood Testament has you rebuilding your hunter roster or stocking up on Bloodline XP boosts, a Steam Wallet Code covers PC purchases, while an Xbox Live Gift Card or PlayStation Store gift card works if you’re hunting on console.
